Another Shortage, This Time It’s Canned Corn
I can't even get my picky family members to crave the same foods at the same time, so it's amazing to think that an entire country can start craving corn on a whim. What in the world is happening.
So far this year we've survived shortages of meat, aluminum cans, pumpkin, mac 'n cheese, and of course toilet paper, so I know we'll survive this momentary lapse in the supply of canned corn too.
Should we blame that deliciously addictive Cream Cheese Corn recipe for this new shortage? The weather is turning colder, it's football season, and we're looking for warm, indulgent comfort foods, so maybe that is what's happening here.
The Wall Street Journal tells us the sweet corn used for canning is only harvested during the summer, and that supply has to last for several months. When the run on grocery stores happened in March, cans of sweet corn were wiped from the shelves, and brands like Del Monte and Green Giant tried to urge farmers to plant more corn to keep up with demand, but the calendar was off and harvesting plans had already been set in stone. It wasn't an easy fix.
The Wall Street Journal said trucking companies whittled down some of their fleets so there are fewer trucks taking corn and other cans of things to grocery stores now. In other words, the shortage is not entirely the cream cheese corn recipe's fault.
With Thanksgiving coming up and sides to make, we don't want anyone messing with the corn supply of course. But there may be a silver lining. There are probably hundreds of cans of corn still sitting on pantry shelves around our neighborhoods, leftover from the March panic buys. We could always ask the neighbors if we could borrow a can or two while we're working our way through the two-year supply of toilet paper.
Or take up canning. If we can find some mason jars.